Tickets for the show -- featuring new music and all-new production – go on sale 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 8 through Ticketmaster, 1-800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.

Urban released his new album “Fuse” on Sept. l. The album includes Urban’s most recent No. 1 song “Little Bit of Everything” and his current Top 10 hit “We Were Us,” which is a duet with Miranda Lambert.

Urban kicked off his Light the Fuse Tour in July in Cincinnati and followed with 28 outdoor shows in amphitheaters. He’ll take his tour inside arenas this fall and then launch the third leg of the tour in January in Michigan.

Urban’s winter concert dates had to be balanced with his filming schedule -- it was recently announced that the singer will return as a judge to “American Idol.” The televised talent search will return to television in January.

The country singer is set to release his new album “Fuse” on Sept. 10.

Country singer Dustin Lynch, who rose to fame last year with songs including Top 5 hit “Cowboys and Angels” and “She Cranks My Tractor,” had to make an emergency trip to the hospital on Thursday.

Lynch, who is currently opening Keith Urban’s Light the Fuse Tour, managed to make it through his midday television appearances in Charlotte, N.C., before heading to the hospital to receive IV fluids to help him fend off the flu.

An early morning drizzle didn’t keep fans from lining up outside of Riverfront Park for opening day of CMA Music Festival.

The sun peeked its head out from the dark cloud cover to shine on downtown Nashville, which has been transformed into a downtown bazaar. Though the line was long, everyone seemed to be in good spirits as the gate finally opened a little after 9 a.m. and the festival grounds become scattered with fans in cowboy hats and boots. Some are just arriving, others have been waiting all night with little to no sleep.

Fans lined up for hours to secure a spot at the Riverfront Park Stage on Thursday. (photo: Jay Powell)

Following the singing of the national anthem by Rachel Holloway, country artist Sara Evans took the stage, the first of many that will grace the Riverfront Park stage over the next four days. Evans, a Booneville, Mo., native, kept the audience singing along, taking them back a few years with hits including “Perfect” and “Born To Fly.”

“It’s so nice to see you, Nashville,” Evans says. “I’m from Missouri, and Nashville has become my second home.”

The rain held off for the rest of the morning, leaving a nice calm, cool setting for outdoor music.

Riverfront Park security also stressed that no backpacks will be allowed inside of Riverfront Park during the festival.

Sara Evans is set to launch the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage at CMA Music Festival, which is set for June 6-9 in downtown Nashville. Evans will play at 10 a.m. June 6.

The Chevrolet Riverfront Stage operates daily and is free and open to the public.

Sara Evans

“Sara is the perfect choice to launch the daily concerts on the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage because of her great repertoire of hit music and undeniable connection to our fans,” said Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer.

Tickets to CMA Festival’s nightly shows at LP Field are sold out, but tickets are still available for Fan Fair X at Music City Center. Admission to that event is $10 a day or $25 for four days at www.ticketmaster.com. Children 12 and under will be admitted free of charge.

For fans who want a sneak peek at what Urban’s been up to in the studio, this tour is worth the drive.

“There’s a high possibility we’ll be hitting the road while I’m still working, finishing up the record,” Urban says. “There’s a high likelihood people will hear the new songs live before they will hear them on an album, which I’ve never had that happen before. That will be different.”

Urban says the production will be based on his Australian tour though much larger. And for the first time in what he thinks is a decade, he’ll hit the amphitheater circuit.

“I’m just really looking forward to being outside,” he says. “I have great memories about all the festivals we’ve done over the years and the fact when it’s pelting rain or sweltering hot -- as nice as it is to be in an air-conditioned arena -- there’s something raw and tactile about being outside with everybody. I’m looking forward to it even if the guitars go completely out of tune.”

The closest venues Urban is playing to Nashville include: Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati on July 18; Verizon Amphitheater Atlanta, Ga., on July 27; Oak Mountain Amphitheatre in Birmingham, Ala., on Aug. 22; and KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky., on Dec. 8.

In the meantime, fans can catch Urban in a different capacity – as a judge on “American Idol” – when the show airs 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays on Fox.

Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town performs during the We're All for the Hall Concert benefitting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at the Bridgestone Arena in 2012. (Photo: Tennessean file/George Walker IV)

The new season kicks off at noon Saturday on Great American Country and will highlight the singer’s passion for simple home cooking as well as the food finds she picks up during her extensive travels with Little Big Town.

“Cooking has always been Kimberly’s passion, and our Great American Country audience also loves to see her in the field hunting for treasures as well as cooking in the kitchen, so the series combines the best of both worlds,” says Sarah Trahern, senior vice president and general manager of Great American Country, in an announcement for the second season.

Tullahoma native Dustin Lynch moved to Nashville nine years ago and did his fair share of stinky work.

At one point, before the country singer started having success, he was charged with testing sewage runoff in a lab. While he readily admits it was a job he hated, he says he wouldn’t change a thing about the past nine years because that’s led him to his current professional success.

Lynch’s debut single, “Cowboy’s and Angels,” is approaching the Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and he’s set to release his self-titled first album Tuesday.

“It’s just a dream come true,” he says. “I’m about to put an album out. This is the proudest moment of my life.”

“This stage is packed with great hit-makers for four days, and it’s free,” said Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “We invite everyone to come and enjoy the great music on the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage.”

Individual tickets to the nightly shows at LP Field, which this year feature artists including Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton and Brad Paisley, are on sale now through Ticketmaster for $40 plus fees. Four day packages to the event start at $125. For tickets, call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or log on to www.ticketmaster.com. For more information on the CMA Music Festival, visit www.cmafest.com.